The Hoggar Mountains ( Arabic: جبال هقار, Berber: idurar n Ahaggar ) are a mountainous region in the central Sahara, south of Algeria, along the Tropic of Cancer. The mountains cover an area of approximately 550,000 square kilometers (212,000 square miles).
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| Hoggar Mountains |
At 2,180 m high, on top of the black mountains of the Hoggar, the Assekrem resembles an eagle's nest. But fate has wanted it to be a hermitage. Almost 30 years ago, two Brothers of Jesus, Edouard and Alain, discreetly shared this wonderful landscape, offering their visitors, in the best of cases and when time allowed, an impressive panoramic view of the Tahat, the highest peak. from Algeria, and in the worst case a glass of tea and some pastries.
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| Hoggar Mountains |
The brothers Edouard and Alain know the price of this hospitality break in a universe of drought where temperatures are extreme. His monastic life is dedicated to Charles de Foucauld, the founding father of his congregation, who stayed for five months at the Assekrem before being assassinated by looters in Tamanrasset, 80 km away.
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| Hoggar Mountains |
To get to Assekrem there is no use being a great walker. A 4x4 easily goes up to the refuge where you can spend the night. It takes about five hours by road. From there, a path dug into the rock leads to the hermitage (15-minute easy climb). The busiest times for a group of tourists are at sunrise and sunset.